Employee Handbook Sign-Off

Thank you. Your signed acknowledgment was received and is on file with The Sweet Tooth (DME Sweets, LLC). You can close this page. If you want a paper copy, ask your manager or Mike.

Welcome to The Sweet Tooth team. This is our employee handbook. It explains how you get paid, how schedules and breaks work, how we keep food safe and kosher, and how we protect our recipes and our brand. Every employee signs the same one.

Each part has a short plain-English version first. The full legal wording is right under it — tap “Read the full legal text” if you want to see it. The legal wording is what counts if the two ever differ, so please do open it. Questions? Ask your manager or Mike before you sign. Nothing here is a trick.

At the bottom you type your name once. That is your signature for everything on this page. Nothing gets printed.

By using this page you agree to sign electronically, as allowed by the federal E-SIGN Act and Florida law. You can ask for a paper copy at any time. Your pay rate and payday schedule are given to you separately and are not part of this page.

About you

Part 1 — How employment works here

In plain English
  • Your job is “at will.” That is normal in Florida: you can leave at any time, and the shop can end the job at any time.
  • This handbook is our set of rules. It is not a contract that promises you a job, hours, or benefits.
  • You always have the right to talk about your pay or working conditions, and to speak with a lawyer or a government agency. You never need our permission for that.
  • If something is wrong, tell any manager or Mike directly. You can skip over anyone who is part of the problem.

Part 2 — Fair treatment, hiring checks, and work papers

In plain English
  • Everyone is treated fairly. No discrimination and no harassment, from anyone — managers, coworkers, vendors, or customers.
  • If you need an accommodation for a health condition, pregnancy, or your religion, just ask. You do not need special words.
  • Reporting a problem in good faith never gets you punished. We keep your medical information private.
  • Work papers (Form I-9): every new hire, no exceptions, fills out the federal I-9 form on day one and shows original ID documents within 3 business days. Same process for everyone, citizen or not. You choose which documents from the official list — we never demand a specific one. If the shop uses E-Verify, your I-9 information is checked against government records after you are hired, and you get a chance to fix any mismatch before anything happens.
  • Background checks: after a job offer, we may run a criminal background check (and a driving-record check for drivers) through a licensed screening company — only with your written OK, and the same check for everyone in the same kind of job. A record does not automatically disqualify you; we look at what happened, how long ago, and whether it matters for the job. If a report might change the decision, you get a copy and a chance to respond first.

Part 3 — Getting paid

In plain English
  • You are paid every two weeks through Gusto, on the regular payday. Your first check and your last check follow that same schedule — no early payouts, no delays.
  • Clock in and out for every minute you work, including cleaning, opening, closing, and work you do on your phone. Never work off the clock. If you forget a punch, tell a manager — you still get paid.
  • Over 40 hours in a week is paid at time and a half. Get approval first, but if you work it, you are paid for it.
  • We never take money out of your check for mistakes, breakage, lost keys, or quitting without notice. Tips belong to you.

Part 4 — Schedules and breaks

In plain English
  • Be ready to start at your scheduled time. If you will be late or out, call or text your manager before the shift if you can.
  • Breaks are one of the perks of working here. Florida law does not require any break for employees 18 and older — we give one anyway. When the shop can handle it, you get up to 30 minutes. Please do not go over; if you do, the perk can be paused for you.
  • Before you go on break, tell a manager you are going. Keep your apron and name tag on, and eat only in the break room.
  • During the holiday rush (Thanksgiving through Christmas) breaks may be shorter or at different times. That is about how busy we are, not about you.
  • If you have to work during a break (help a customer, answer a call), you are paid for that time. Bathroom access is never denied.
  • If you are 15 or younger, the law gives you a 30-minute break before you work more than 4 hours straight. If you are 16 or 17 and scheduled 8 hours or more that day, same rule. Nursing mothers who need to pump always get their break time. Those are the law, not a perk — they never get paused.

Part 5 — Time off

In plain English
  • Vacation and regular sick days are unpaid unless a written plan says otherwise. Ask for time off as early as you can.
  • If you are sick, tell us right away — especially anything like vomiting, diarrhea, or a fever with sore throat, because of food safety. You will not be punished for reporting it.
  • Jury duty, military service, and other legally protected leave are honored. Tell your manager as soon as you know.
  • The store closes for Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Management posts the closure calendar.

Part 6 — Safety, food safety, kosher rules, and the employee discount

In plain English
  • Kosher comes first. We are certified by Kosher Miami, and one slip can cost the certification. No outside food or drink anywhere in the shop except the break room, and it stays in the break room. The break room is the only place to eat. No eating and no chewing gum on the sales floor, in the kitchen, or in production or storage areas — ever.
  • Your employee discount — a real perk: 50% off anything in the store for your own use. Have a manager or another employee ring it up at the register and pay for it like any customer would. The discount is for you, not for friends or family.
  • The flip side: eating, tasting, taking, or giving away any product without paying for it — even one piece — is theft. It ends your job immediately, no warnings. The only exception is a sample a manager hands you for quality checking.
  • Every shift: wash your hands when you start, after breaks, after the restroom, and any time you touch your face, phone, or trash. Keep your hair fully covered with a hairnet or hat at all times.
  • Wear your Sweet Tooth apron and your name tag for the whole shift, including when you go on break.
  • Safety first. Only use equipment you have been trained on. Never reach into moving machinery. Report spills, burns, and broken equipment right away. If you get hurt, get care first and then tell us — reporting an injury never gets you in trouble.
  • Follow the Kosher Miami instructions and keep dairy and parve strictly separate. If you think something got mixed up, stop and say so immediately — nobody gets in trouble for reporting a mistake, only for hiding one.
  • Never tell a customer something is allergen-free unless you have been told you can. No drugs or alcohol at work. Only approved, insured drivers drive for the shop.

Part 7 — Recipes, accounts, and social media

In plain English
  • Recipes, customer information, and the shop’s social media accounts belong to the shop.
  • What you learn here stays here. Recipes, how we make things, who our suppliers and big customers are, what we pay, and what we are planning are trade secrets. Do not share them with anyone outside the shop — not friends, not family, not another employer, not social media, not a reporter — while you work here or after you leave. Florida and federal law protect this, and breaking it can mean a lawsuit. (Talking about your own pay or working conditions, or reporting a problem to a lawyer or the government, is always allowed — that is not what this is about.)
  • Only approved people run our Instagram, TikTok, website, and other accounts, and the owner always keeps control. Never lock the shop out of an account or change its recovery info without approval. Your personal accounts and passwords stay yours.
  • Photos, videos, and posts you make for work go in the shop’s folder, even if you shot them on your own phone.
  • Do not paste recipes, customer info, or passwords into ChatGPT, a personal cloud, or any app we have not approved.
  • We may look at shop equipment and shop accounts. We do not search your personal phone or personal accounts. There are never cameras in bathrooms or changing areas.

Part 8 — Doing the job, and leaving the job

In plain English
  • Do your work safely and treat customers and coworkers with respect. Tell us if you have an outside business or a relationship that could be a conflict.
  • Serious things — theft (including eating or taking product without paying), faking records, leaking recipes, unsafe behavior, harassment — can end your job on the spot. Honest mistakes and good-faith complaints are not misconduct.
  • There is no fixed “three strikes” system. What happens depends on what happened.
  • If you leave, two weeks’ notice is appreciated but not required. Your final check comes on the normal payday no matter what. Return keys, uniforms, and shop files, and hand back any account access. The trade-secret rules keep applying after you leave.
  • You can always go to a lawyer or a government agency. Nothing here takes that away, and nothing here forces you into arbitration.

Agreement A — Work you create, and keeping recipes private

In plain English
  • Anything you create for the shop as part of your job — photos, videos, posts, designs, recipes, formulas, improvements — belongs to the shop. Your paycheck is your payment for that work.
  • Recipes and business secrets stay inside the shop, while you work here and after. Do not copy, photograph, share, or talk about them with anyone outside the shop, and never use them for another business. This is a binding promise you are making, and the law backs it up.
  • If you already owned something before this job (for example, your own recipe or your own photos), list it in the box below so it stays yours.
  • This never stops you from taking another job, using your general skills, talking about pay and working conditions, or reporting a legal problem to the government or a lawyer. Those rights are protected by law.
  • This agreement uses Florida law, has no arbitration clause, and does not take away any claim you may have.

Schedule A1 — Anything you already owned before this job?

Most people answer “none.” If you have your own recipe, photos, or designs from before this job that you might use here, list them so they stay yours. Do not share another employer’s secrets.

Agreement B — Optional: photos and videos of you

In plain English
  • This one is optional. Saying no changes nothing about your job or your pay.
  • If you say yes, we can use photos and videos of you that we take at work (with you knowing) in our social media, website, and ads, now and after you leave.
  • We will never use your face or voice for anything unrelated, sell it to someone else, or use AI to fake you saying something. You can stop appearing in new videos at any time by telling us in writing.
  • You must be 18 or older to say yes.

Sign here — just once

Typing your name below is your signature. It covers the Employee Handbook (Parts 1–8, including the handbook receipt), Agreement A (A1–A9) and Schedule A1 — and Agreement B only if you chose “Yes” above.

When you press Submit, your answers, your typed name, and the date and time are recorded and sent to The Sweet Tooth’s records. That is it — nothing gets printed.